Dance fans race round Helsinki as DJ Darude's hit 'Sandstorm' turns 25

By Tom Little

HELSINKI (Reuters) -Hundreds of dance music fans dressed in red and raced round Helsinki, echoing the video of Finnish DJ Darude's hit "Sandstorm" 25 years after its international release.

The crowd ran past landmarks in the film, where a woman in a red hooded top was seen carrying a metal briefcase and trying to get away from two pursuers.

"We had no idea how many people would actually just throw themselves into the whole thing and be goofy," Darude - full name Toni-Ville Virtanen - told Reuters after the event on Sunday.

"I know the track, every millisecond of it, but I don't know why it has this effect," he added. "The longevity is just almost unheard of and I'm just kind of along for the ride."

The 50-year-old signed signatures and played tracks for fans.

"Sandstorm" became an international hit in the early 2000s. In March, Billboard magazine recognised it as one of the 100 best dance songs of all time, saying its simple arrangement "takes one hard-hitting melody and loops it to high-energy heaven".

"When I hear it, I have to dance. I don't have any other choice," Finnish school teacher Mirva Voutilainen, one of the runners, told Reuters.

U.S. fan Daniel Erikson took the challenge one step further and dressed up as Helsinki Cathedral, one of the sites in the video. The song had been "a fun part" of his high school years, he told Reuters.

"I probably wore the CD out in my car CD changer, driving around suburban Ohio where I grew up," Erikson said.

More than 800 people braved the drizzly Nordic weather to take part, organisers said.

(Reporting by Tom Little, writing by Anne Kauranen in Helsinki, editing by Andrew Heavens)